On Thursday afternoon, CBS’s Jon Rothstein reported that Boston College and UMass are set to play against each other in men’s basketball at a neutral site in 2025-26.
NEWS: Boston College and UMass will meet in a neutral site game during the 2025-26 season, according to multiple sources. https://t.co/4ZCb9O4Mh4
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 1, 2024
Details are scarce in Rothstein’s report, including a lack of a potential site for the match-up, but it’s an interesting development nonetheless. BC and UMass haven’t played against each other since a 2014 match-up at TD Garden, despite the urgings of many UMass fans online.
These two schools certainly don’t like each other, being in-state rivals that play regularly in men’s hockey and often in football, so it makes sense that a match-up in men’s basketball would draw some fan interest. But neither program is particularly successful on a national level and the rivalry probably won’t draw much interest outside of the state.
Both Boston College and UMass did have above average seasons last year, though. BC won their most games in over a decade and made a run in the NIT. UMass won 20 games and finished 4th in the A-10. Not exactly world-beaters, and rosters have definitely changed in the offseason, but two programs generally headed in the right direction.